Darren Banks: The Raven

Churton Fairman (1924 - 1997) - better known by his alias Mike Raven - had an extraordinary life. Starting out as an aspiring ballet dancer and photographer, he then became a pirate radio dj, pioneer of blues music and one of the first presenters on Radio One. He was also a horror movie actor, starring alongside the like of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. In the 1970s he gave up his celebrity lifestyle and moved to Bodmin Moor in Cornwall to become a sheep farmer and wood carver. Fairman's sculpture, which explored religious themes, was exhibited alongside work by Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein, and was well received and collected during his lifetime, but since then has been all but forgotten.

Artist Darren Banks, who discovered he had a family connection to Churton Fairman and was intrigued by his life story, has recently created a body of work inspired by Fairman's legacy. Banks' practice examines the relationship between objects and film, so he was drawn to Fairman's work as both a sculptor and horror movie actor.

Our 2nd Floor Garman Ryan temporary exhibition space will host a new installation by Banks, which will reference Fairman, alongside works by Epstein and Gaudier-Brzeska in our collection.